New Delhi: In a significant development, the Supreme Court has ordered the transfer of the investigation into the tragic Karur stampede to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Going a step further, the court has also appointed a monitoring committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge, Ajay Rastogi, to oversee the federal agency’s probe into the incident that claimed multiple lives during a political rally.
The order comes after the parents of a deceased boy and other petitioners argued before the court that they had no faith in the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Tamil Nadu government. They had petitioned the Supreme Court, seeking a CBI investigation under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court judge, alleging a lack of impartiality in the state-appointed SIT.
VIDEO | Karur Stampede case: As the Supreme Court appoints former Judge Ajay Rastogi to head committee for monitoring the CBI probe, TVK lawyer Gauri Subramanian says, “I think the law has taken its course. We have been given a very sound, long, detailed hearing by the judges.… pic.twitter.com/R2szkYz1Hh
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 13, 2025
Who is Retired Justice Ajay Rastogi, the Monitor of the Probe?
The Supreme Court’s choice to head the monitoring committee, Justice Ajay Rastogi, is a distinguished legal mind with a prolific career. Born on June 18, 1958, he began his legal practice in 1982 following in the footsteps of his father, renowned civil lawyer Harish Chandra Rastogi.
Justice Rastogi was appointed as a judge of the Rajasthan High Court in 2004, where he later served as the Executive Chairman of the State Legal Services Authority. Under his leadership, the authority received the National Award for three consecutive years. He was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court on March 1, 2018, before being elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on November 2, 2018.
Throughout his tenure, he has been associated with several landmark judgments. These include rulings on granting permanent commission to female Short Service Commission officers in the Navy, upholding the existing age limit for the IAS examination, recognizing the entitlement of Anganwadi workers to gratuity, and being part of the constitutional bench that upheld the cultural right to practice Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu.